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Black Friday

This one you've probably heard of before... it's the day after
American Thanksgiving. It marks the beginning of the Christmas
shopping season. Many brick-and-mortar stores open up early and offer
wild deals that are similar to, or even bigger than "Boxing Day" sales
which you may be familiar with. The left side of the cartoon
accurately depicts the chaos often found in stores on Black Friday.

Cyber Monday

This is the Monday immediately following Black Friday. Cyber Monday
works on the same principle as Black Friday, except that it occurs
online only. See the right side of the cartoon above? That's Cyber
Monday. Ecommerce stores
(like most of the stores on Shopify)
offer amazing deals that customers can take advantage of in the
comfort of their own home.

In 2005, Shop.org coined the term “Cyber Monday” after analyzing
increased Internet traffic and sales on the first day that most people
return to work after the holiday weekend.

Since its inception, online consumers have started to spread the word
about Cyber Monday. Between 2006 and 2011, online sales doubled to
over 1.2 billion dollars on Cyber Monday. The success of Cyber Monday
has made itself known all around the world, including Canada, the
United Kingdom, and all over Europe.

Many online retailers have taken advantage of this upsurge in consumer
spending by offering discounts, incentives, savings options, and free
shipping. Shop.org originally coined “Cyber Monday” as a marketing
term to promote business on an already busy day. Online retail stores
have not limited their sales and discounts only for Cyber Monday;
however, they certainly have started to capitalize on its popularity
by marketing early in the season. While Cyber Monday offers unbeatable
discounts, online retailers will still promote sales throughout the
holiday season.

How You Can Market Your Business for Cyber Monday

As Cyber Monday quickly approaches, consider the following marketing
strategies to help you capitalize on increased online shopping activity.

Smartphone Advertising

Optimize your online store for the mobile experience, analyze smartphone
shopping trends on your website, post exclusive advertisements to
communicate with the mobile market, and create an app that lets smartphone
users explore the products in your store and make purchases right on the spot.
By perfecting your mobile marketing strategy you’ll be able to accommodate
comparison shoppers who love finding the hottest deals with the touch
of a finger.

Internet Presence

Think of the internet as more than just a sales medium for Cyber Monday.
Remember that lots of consumers look online to research the products
they want to buy first, and then visit brick-and-mortar stores to make
the final purchase. Use the internet as a marketing tool for both Black
Friday in-store bargains and Cyber Monday online deals. Cross market to
your advantage and use your retail location to promote online sales and
your online store to promote in-store sales.

Email Coupons & QR Codes

Promote special offers through email coupons. Generate e-newsletters
with interesting, relevant and exciting content and include a Cyber
Monday coupon that recipients can redeem online. Within your
e-newsletters or in your brick-and-mortar location, use QR codes
that let customers instantly gain access to promotional information
including coupons, contests, loyalty rewards and product discounts.

Social Media Marketing

Deal-hungry consumers love to share their findings with friends and family.
Promote your sales on Facebook and Twitter, pin to your heart’s content
on Pinterest and post images of your new products on Instagram to
encourage easy online sharing between your customers and their personal
networks.

Originality

Easier said than done, but be creative. Be different. Go in a new
direction. These days, a little originality goes a long way to attract
customers and create a buzz around your brand. Take a daring step and
put an imaginative spin on your Cyber Monday marketing campaign.

Deliver Value

Even though at its core Cyber Monday is about ringing in big sales
numbers, don’t forget the value add for your customers. Make your
marketing about more than just discounts and promotions. Provide
practical and educational information that speaks to your target
audience and builds brand loyalty.

Shopify and Cyber Monday

When you have an ecommerce platform like Shopify behind you, any sales
channel is fair game. Shopify gives you countless tools to help you
facilitate online, in-store
and mobile sales. So as you build your
Cyber Monday marketing campaign, turn to Shopify for the support you
need be it secure hosting to accommodate increased traffic, a new app
to communicate promotions or online reporting to analyze results when
it’s all said and done.